Heat of the Moment
by TheWerewolfHeadmistress
Summary: Moving to a new town was nothing new to Annabelle Laing. But then she moves to a small town in Louisiana for a new start for herself, her two daughters and her best friend, Marie. The girls get more than they bargain for when a serial killer of the supernatural persuasion brings the Winchesters to town and they find romance in unlikely places. Alcide/OC, Eric N./OC/Dean W.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Annabelle**

I hated little towns. Too much gossip, and I always managed to piss off the wrong person, right away. Moving somewhere new was anything but for me. My mom married an active Marine when I was 13. When that happened, being the new kid in town became like second nature. Except this time, I wasn't a kid. I was 24 and on the road to a small town in Northern Louisiana. I'd gotten a job at the local elementary school as their new 2nd grade teacher. I'd only gotten the job because their salaried teacher had taken off after a scandalous affair with a vampire.

"Bughhh" I said, suppressing a shudder. Don't get me wrong, I was raised proper and I have nothing against anyone unless they give me reason. I was taught not to hold one person's mistakes against an entire race, as well. I held no ill will against vampires, just not my cup of tea. I had no more issue with supernaturals than I do gays. And my kid brother is gay and I couldn't be more proud of him. Some of my stepfather's buddies were werewolves and shifters. Although, I'm not supposed to know that last bit. It's just the idea of sex with someone that's technically dead that makes my skin crawl.

"Only warm bodies for me, I'm afraid." I laughed to myself. I soon saw a city limit sign reading Bon Temps city limit, population: 2,000. At that point, my anxiety started settling in.

"This was easier when I was a kid," I said to myself. "At least this place won't be crawling with vampires and the like, like Dallas was. And Marie will be here this weekend. I can manage a week without her." Finishing my pep talk to myself, I pulled up to the duplex with the address I was given. I glanced back at my little girls asleep in the back seat and whispered, "This will be good for us. Just wait and see." I took a deep breath, and got out of the car to talk to the mildly attractive man standing on the porch. Who, I can only assume, must be the owner, Sam Merlotte.

**Alcide**

The work day was almost over, thank God. One day closer to the weekend. I had to stop putting off this talk that I needed to have with Sookie. I had to make myself go to Bon Temps this weekend.

"Mr. Herveaux, Jones wants to know when his plans will be ready." my assistant squawked into my intercom. She was more than efficient, but since I started stressing about Sookie so much her voice had started grating on my nerves. "Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning at the latest, Louann."

Work was tedious for the next two hours. The longer the day dragged on, the more anxious I got. This day had to end soon before I shifted in the office and gave my secretary a heart attack. Five-thirty finally came and I gathered my things and went straight to my truck. I had to get home, get changed and get out to my dad's before the sun when down. The full moon started tonight and I was so glad because I really needed to run. That, and I'd been doing a pretty good job of avoiding the Shreveport vampires.

**Sam**

"Ah. No, Sammy. You know the house rules. Don't mess with my music." said Dean as he knocked my hand away from the radio of the Impala. And thereby condemning me to another round of the same 5 eighties cassettes. That's right, 2008 and we're listening to cassettes of Led Zepplin and Queen. That's life with Dean.

"Where are we headed today, Sammy?" Dean asked, stuffing the last of a fried apple pie in his mouth.

"How do you eat that crap, Dean?" I asked, incredulously. "Because it's pie, Sam. Pie, in any form, is delicious." Dean replied biting into a cherry flavored one. I just shook my head and looked down at the map in my lap. "Well, the closest thing to us is in Butte, Montana, but the one in Oklahoma City seems more our scene." I said. Dean looked over to me and asked, mouth full "Why's that one not our scene, but the one in OKC is?"

"Well, because we usually try to avoid any jobs involving aliens and anal probes-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Dude, do not talk to me about that kind of stuff, okay?" I chuckled. I figured that would send Dean high-tailing it to the south. "Anyway, in Oklahoma City, there have been mysterious fires, burglaries, and murders." I finished. "Not that I don't prefer this case to... other stuff," Dean stuttered. "but these all sound like normal occurrences, not really 'supernatural'."

"Well, because the murder victims were drained of blood, the only thing that's missing from the were personal items like hairbrushes, toothbrushes, heirloom jewelry and stuff like that. And every house fire's point of origin left symbols burned in the floor of the living room at every crime scene. No fingerprints, no sign of forced entry, nothing."

Dean sat in silence for a moment. Then he slammed his hands down on the steering wheel. "Son of a bitch! Fucking vampires!"

"We don't know it's vampires, Dean." I said calmly, knowing full well it probably was.

"Bodies drained of blood, Sam? It's vampires."

"There's nothing we can do if it is, Dean."

"You don't think I know that, Sam? Only in America would we give rights to dead guys. Oklahoma it is, I guess."

* * * * *

A day later, we were hitting Oklahoma City city limits. We weren't in town an hour and came across a crime scene on the way to the hotel. We changed into our FBI suits in the gas station across the street, grabbed some coffee and made our way through to the crime scene. A florist building had been burned to the ground with the owner inside. We asked basic questions, finding no clues at the scene. We left and went to check into the hotel. "Well, that was a bust." Dean said, flopping down on the bed. "Yeah." I said, absentmindedly. "I'm gonna see if I can't get into their files." Dean fell asleep, so I kept on working. By the time he woke back up I had traced four other occurrences of three sets of crimes at three different scenes. Other than the crimes, I couldn't find anything connecting the victims. Dean finally came to and I said, "Hey. I found another incident two weeks ago in Texas, and three others. All in sets of three."

"What? English, please?" Dean said, groggily.

"In Houston, two weeks ago, three people were robbed of personal items, their house set on fire after they'd been drained of blood. It happened before in Little Rock, again in Mobile, Alabama, and again in Jackson, Mississippi. Three crimes done to each of the three victims in three different states. These were a year ago last month-"

"When the attacks started." Dean finished.

"Exactly. I've been looking through personal files and can't find any connection between them." I said, throwing papers down in frustration. Dean walked over and picked up a pile of newspaper printouts and said, "Where are they from?"

I looked up, a little confused and said, "What?"

"Where are they all from? The attacks seem to spread across the deep south but skip Louisiana completely."

"I don't know. Let me look," I clicked through a few things, shuffled through some papers, and finally found it."Bon Temps, Louisiana."

"Which ones?" Dean asked. I looked at my tired older brother and said, "All of them. They all from Bon Temps."

Dean chuckled and said, "Do you think they celebrate Mardi Gras in Bon Temps?"


	2. Chapter 2

******Chapter 2**

******Annabelle**

"Hey there! I'm Annabelle Laing. I believe we spoke on the phone. Are you Sam Merlotte?" I rushed out, holding out my hand for him to shake it.

"Well, I was beginning to wonder you were gonna take a breath in that introduction, chere."

I blushed, embarrassed. He smiled slyly, shook my hand and said, "Hello, Annabelle. I'm Sam. Just giving you a hard time." I laughed and talked to him about the inner workings of the apartment, paid first month's rent and took the keys. "It's fully furnished, not much for your babies but a bed and dresser, but it seems like you've got most of that under control." Sam said gesturing towards my loaded down Jeep Grand Cherokee. "Rent's due at the beginning of the month. You should come to the bar. It's a family place so bring your kids." Sam added quickly as if he knew I was going to say something about my kids in a bar. I shook his hand again, he stepped off the porch and went to his truck. I headed to the car to start getting my living room ready to keep my kids entertained while I unload everything else. I went to the car, pulled out the two baby gates, put one in the hallway and the other in the kitchen doorway and hurried back outside. Natalie had woken while I was hurrying down the steps. Emma was still sleeping peacefully. So I pulled Natalie out of her car seat and handed her her sippy cup. I put her down on the ground, gave her their little DVD holder and told her to go to the porch while I got her sister.

She stumbled to the porch while I unbuckled a sleeping Emma. I picked her up across my chest trying to keep her asleep, and was struggling to get the playpen with my free hand hand when a black truck with pink and aqua swirls down the side pulled up outside my house.

"Ugh, just what I need." I mumbled under my breath, trying and failing to get the baby and the crib into the house. Suddenly, a tall, blonde man came up beside me and said,

"Hello, ma'am. I hear you're the new school teacher."

At that I actually turned and looked at him and - holy shit he's gorgeous. I gathered my jaw from the ground and said, "Yes sir, I am." I huffed, still struggling with my load.

"Oh." he said as if he'd just realized I was having trouble. "Here, let me take that for you." I was hesitant but afraid I'd drop something and I was trying to make a genuine effort not to inadvertently piss anyone off. So, I let him follow me inside. He seemed harmless enough and I could handle myself if I could just put the baby down. We got inside and I laid Emma down on a blanket next to her sister. I told anywhere was fine for the playpen and went to work on it once he'd put it down. Natalie immediately starts talking his ear off.

"Nat, leave the man be." I scolded. He just chuckled and said, "It's alright, ma'am. I'm Jason Stackhouse, by the way." "Well, thank you much, Mr. Stackhouse. I'm Annabelle Laing, this is Natalie and the sleeping one-" I said, gesturing to each of us in turn, "is Emma." I laid a throw in the bottom of the pen and bent to pick up Emma and laid her in her bed.

"Alright, Mr. Stackhouse, I appreciate your help but I'm afraid I've nothing to offer you since I've not gotten groceries yet."

"No problem, Annabelle. Call me Jason. Need help with anything else?"

"No, I think I'm good. It's mostly clothes and bedding for now. My roommate's bringing the bigger stuff later in the week. So, unless you know of a babysitter for my kids before the school year starts, I'm fine."

"Actually, my sister should know of one. You can find her at Merlotte's almost every day. You can also have her hit me up if you need when your roommate gets here. But I'll be going. Welcome to Bon Temps." "Thank you, Jason." He went to walk away but I stopped him and asked his sister's name. "Sookie. But she'll know when you come in." he said and hopped in his truck and drove off.

That was odd. Oh well. I popped 'Princess and the Frog' in for the girls and went to unload the bedding, pictures, and dishes to get my little apartment feeling more like home.

**Alcide**

I hate when full moons fall on Mondays. It makes the rest of the week feel like a Monday. Being able to run last night really helped my nerves. I'm just gonna ask her out. She's the smart decision, she's gorgeous, she's a good woman. But I know she doesn't love me like she does that stupid fanger. I won't go there. She'll either have me or she won't. Either way, I can stop freaking out over this shit. I've picked up the phone to call her a million times. I've even thought of emailing her. But technology is the coward's way out for both of us. No, this had to be face to face. Not to mention, I don't exactly mind leaving my scent for that fucker Eric to find on her. Just then, my cell phone buzzed. I wasn't sure who it could be since it was late afternoon, I knew Sookie was at work and everyone else that would text me, would call the office. I looked down, unlocked the screen and saw it was from Sookie.

_[Alcide-_

_We need to talk. Come to Merlotte's after work? _

_-S.] _

Great. I don't want to do this weekend and she wants to do it tonight. There's no way I could be back here before nightfall. I'd have to run out at Sookie's. Her Gran wouldn't mind. I texted her back.

_[Sook-_

_Let me run on your land tonight and I'll be there._

_-A]_

_[A-_

_Crap. I forgot it was a full moon tonight. No problem. Jason will be out there anyway. See you tonight._

_-S]_

That's it, I guess. I don't know how this is gonna end, but I guess I'll find out tonight. At least, I'll already be in a bar.

**Sam**

I rolled my eyes at him. My brother, the perpetual teenage boy. "Focus, Dean. You know, people dying?"

"Our whole lives are people dying. Forgive me for hoping for a little public nudity."

Dean had a point. Demons, death, and destruction had been our entire lives. No long term relationships, no stable homes. We were hunters, born and raised. "I know, man. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Sammy. This is the life. So where is 'Bon Temps'?" Dean asked, complete with air quotes.

"It's about an hour outside Shreveport, very small town."

"Awesome. I love small towns. Open books, those places. No secrets there." Dean quipped sarcastically.

"Yeah. I know. But we've gotta go."

"Yeah. Let's get cleaned up and grab some shut eye and we'll head that way. I swear if we hear any pigs or banjos, those people are on their own."

I had to agree. We weren't going to convince anyone that we were FBI in the state we were in.

The next morning before dawn, we packed up and got on the road to Louisiana. We drove a good six hours before hitting the Louisiana state line. "So where do we go first?" Dean asked, reaching for one of my french fries. "It's looking like the Sheriff's office. And then there's this Merlotte guy that seems to own half the town, including a self-named bar."

"Awesome. You go to the sheriff's office and I'll go to the bar to check things out."

"No, Dean. We can both go to the bar later when we can actually check out more than the waitresses."

"What?" Dean asked, innocently. I just shook my head at him.

"We'll be here a few days, you don't wanna piss off a waitress in a small town, in the only bar, on our first day. Just hold off, it'll take us a few days to gather info. They're not gonna flip easily."

"Alright. But we split up and recon separately. Baby brother on my arm doesn't do it for the chicks."

"Whatever, Dean. Let's go talk to the sheriff. " We went to talk to Sheriff Bud Dearborne and got a deputy Bellefleur instead. All we got from him is that they try to stay out of vampire affairs. And that Merlotte was a waste of time. 'He was as good as they come' he'd said. "Let's go see if we can find Merlotte. The deputy says he lives behind his bar." I told Dean. We drove for a while before we found the side road to the bar. We drove next to it and realized that he lived literally fifty feet behind his bar. There was a small double wide trailer sitting in the back of the parking lot. We parked behind the bar and were getting out of the car when a graying older but muscular man came out of the back door of the bar carrying empty boxes to the dumpster.

"Excuse me. Are you Mr. Merlotte?" Dean asked the man.

"Who, me? No. I'm Terry Bellefleur. Merlotte ran to walmart for food and supplies before we open. What can I do you for?" the man asked, holding his hand out to shake ours. "I'm Dean Winchester and this is my brother, Sam. We're from the FBI." Dean said, taking Terry's hand.

"What in the world's Merlotte done to have the FBI on his tail?" Terry asked.

"Nothing, that we know of, Mr. Bellefleur. We're looking for him because he's bought up a lot of property here and case has led us here." I told him.

"Don't know what you'd find in Bon Temps." Terry said, shaking his head. "But yeah, he owns a lot now. Thank God he bought it up like he did. Merlotte's what has kept this town afloat." Terry praised.

"So the townspeople owe Mr. Merlotte a lot, then?" Dean pried.

"Oh." Terry replied nervously, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops. "Well, we do but he don't expect nothing. Just that you do your job if you work for him. He keeps to himself, helps out who he can. He's a good man." Terry said, kicking his boots in the gravel and eyeing us suspiciously.

"We're not denying that he is, Mr. Bellefleur. We just need to talk to him."

"Well, come back around four and he'll be the one behind the bar."

"Will do. Thank you for your time."

Terry tipped his hat and went back inside the bar. "Merlotte seems like a saint." I said to Dean.

"More like a wolf in sheep's clothing." Dean replied.

"You think he's got something do with our case?" I asked.

"No. Just think he's hiding something. Why do so much for people and then be so private?"

"I don't know, Dean. I guess we'll find out tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Annabelle**

A few hours of work, some pictures and curtains later, and this place felt like home. Marie was still missing from our little family, but she'd be here soon. Finding her a job might be a bit of a task. She's good at many things, but hates doing almost all of them. She did seem to like that job at the hotel, tending bar. Maybe Merlotte needs a bartender? That would be convenient. Not counting any chickens though. I got up and packed a diaper bag. I needed some essentials so it was looking more and more like a dreaded trip to walmart would be necessary. Emma chose that moment to wake up, so I packed two sippy cups and picked her up. I changed a diaper and put shoes on Nat. "Let's go, ladies. Time to go buy food."

We loaded into the car and headed to the local Wal-Mart. I bought a few groceries including a frozen pizza, diapers and some toiletries. I checked out, loaded us back into the Jeep and drove us home. I took the kids and the groceries inside. Preheated the oven and went to put a movie on for the kids. I went back in the kitchen and popped the pizza in the oven. Twenty minutes later we were eating our first dinner in our new home. After that, we took baths and got ready for bed. I took my quiet time to read some and soak in a bath myself. After I was clean and effectively exhausted, I locked up, flipped off lights and climbed into bed myself.

The next day flew by, as most days do with two kids. By dinner, I was exhausted. Might as well check out Merlotte's, considering I'd been invited by the owner and I've reason to go. I'm too tired anyway. I'd forgotten baby wipes at the store last night. I figured I'd run to Wal-Mart first to pick them up. Then feed the kids at the bar. Two birds, one stone and all that. I repacked the diaper bag, corralled my children into the car and headed to Wal-Mart. I checked out, threw the wipes in the diaper bag, and headed toward Merlotte's Bar & Grill. It wasn't anything fancy but it came off welcoming. I pulled into the parking lot, parked and got us inside. I went to sit in an empty booth and one of the other teachers waved me and the kids over to her and I assumed, her date.

"Hey, Annabelle! Are these yours?" she asked, waving to my kids. "They're beautiful."

"Thank you." I said smiling.

"Annabelle..Laing, is it? This is my fiance, Detective Andy Bellefleur." she said, introducing the man she was having dinner with.

"Good evening, Detective Bellefleur." I said nodding to him.

"So where are your little ones going to stay during the school day? Do you have family here?" Halleigh asked.

"No. I was actually told to speak to one of the waitresses about that. Sookie or something?" At that moment, a petite blonde haired, blue eyed waitress appeared at our table, smiling a bright smile.

"Well, speak of the devil. Sookie, this is Annabelle. She was just sayin' that she was lookin' for you."

"Howdy-do. What can I do for you?"

"Yes. Your brother, Jason sent me to ask you about a sitter." I didn't mention how his frankness had made me uncomfortable. Overconfident men made me that way. So I was shocked by her response. "Oh, Jason's harmless. He just doesn't have the sense God gave a goose." I stared at her in shock.

Halleigh leaned over and whispered, "Sookie does that. You'll get used to it." I was torn from my shock when a man walked up to her. He was tall and muscular, dressed in jeans, boots and a red flannel shirt open over a fitted white t shirt. His black hair made an unruly halo around a beautifully sculpted face. A proud nose, squared jaw and bright green eyes so deep, I thought I might drown. He was the most perfect man I'd ever laid eyes on. He had a power about him, it was intoxicating. I'd felt it before around my dad's old golfing buddy. We'd lost touch because my mom freaked when she found out he was a werewolf. Said he was too dangerous around us. Like he wasn't the same man he'd always been.

_I don't know why I was letting myself get worked up over him. Men like that don't go for girls like me. A man like that wouldn't want a woman burdened by kids. Not that I thought my children were anything less than a blessing, just that a lot of man tucked tail and ran from a single mother. God, he was nice to look at though_. When I came back to Sookie had said something. "I'm sorry, what?"

Halleigh nudged me and said, "She says that this is Alcide Herveaux. Of Herveaux and Sons. The contractors?" I shrugged. I guess that was supposed to mean something. During this exchange over his credentials, Natalie had taken to tugging at his shirttail. "Excuse me, sir." she said sweetly. He looked down at her. "You're very tall and you have a lot of hair."

_Oh my god. Leave it to my kids to completely humiliate me in front of the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen._"Natalie! Leave him alone. We don't pull on people's clothes!"_  
_

Thankfully, he smiled and crouched down to Nat's level. He looked her and flashed a devastating smile. I almost melted into the seat. "It's alright, isn't it Natalie? I am tall, and I do have a lot of hair. You have long hair too. Is that because you're a princess?" "No, sir. I'm THE princess." He laughed a low rumble. He wasn't anymore immune to Nat's charms as anyone else, I see. Sookie laughed too and turned to me and said, "Here, give me your number. Gran would love to keep your girls during the school day. I don't know that she'll take money from a single mom, even if she needs it. If you'll give me her pay, I'll sneak it in on her bills." "Thank you. Thank you so much. This is a life saver." "Nice to meet you, Annabelle. Welcome to Bon Temps." Sookie said and then walked away. _Funny, I don't remember mentioning I was single. _I looked up and Sookie turned and winked at me. Had that just happened?

I turned back to Halleigh. "That was odd. She's really nice. It's funny. I felt like she was reading my mind or something like that." Then, speaking at the same time, Andy said, "Yeah. Something like that." and Halleigh said, "Sookie's as sweet as can be." It seemed an odd remark, but she'd came off very genuine to me. And my instincts are usually dead on. Which is why I didn't know why I couldn't seem to let go of that gorgeous man, Alcide. He was way out of my league and off limits if attached. I'd been cheated on, I'd never put someone else through that. I went home with my kids after bidding Halleigh and her date goodbye. I got home feeling very accomplished. That night I dreamed of drowning and deep green eyes.

**Alcide**

I spent as long as I safely could at work, in order to avoid this conversation with Sookie. I knew why I needed to talk to Sookie. But as to why she wanted to talk to me, that made me nervous. Ir could be a good talk or it could be a bad one. The uncertainty was killing me. My gut told me what kind of talk this was. But my heart made me hope it wasn't for my pride's sake. I couldn't help hoping. When I could no longer put it off, I stood up from my desk, grabbed my keys, portfolio, and cell phone and went to my truck. I sat in the cab for a full five minutes, trying to convince myself to go. "Dammit, Herveaux. Let's go. Have some balls." I told myself. With that, I started my truck, backed out of the parking lot, and got on the highway to Bon Temps.

A little over an hour later, I pulled into the Merlotte's parking lot. I parked and sat in my truck, mentally persuading myself to go inside. I took a deep breath, tried in vain to tame my hair in the visor's mirror, and then stepped out of my Chevy and into Merlotte's.

She was standing there talking to two women, two kids and that detective. The woman facing me had simple features framed by short, ear length brown hair. She was attractive in a simple way. I'd seen her in here before with the detective. The other woman had her back to me, she had honey-blonde hair to the middle of her back. I couldn't see her face from where I was standing. She seemed to be the mother of the children, which made sense since they were both the same shade of blonde as their mother. On one hand, I envied her, being able to have normal children. On the other hand, seeing a woman care so much about her family was oddly attractive. So many women don't have that kind of love for their kids. Or don't want families. Which, really deep down, I wanted. But Were babies seldom carried full term with human women. I'd given up hope for kids years ago. It's not a life I would put on a with another Were woman. Most women don't want wolves around their children. And it's not something you can hide for long. So a ready made family like that was out of the question. I'm not entirely sure why I'm thinking about it now.

Sookie seemed to just be chatting. I should let her know I was here. I walked over to her and stood by while she talked to the blonde woman. They were discussing Sookie's grandmother sitting for her during the school day. I had a lot of respect for Adele. _I wonder what she did at the school? _Sookie glanced up at me and told me she was almost done there and then she had to check her tables. "I'm fine. Take your time." Of course, she knew better.

At that point, the elder of the children starting pulling on my shirt. Sookie went back to talking to them but the blonde didn't seem to hear her at first. Sookie was introducing me to the table, when the mother looked up and said, "I'm sorry, what?" It was then that I got my first good look at her face. She was beautiful. Long blonde hair, soft hazel eyes, long eyelashes and full lips. Life did seem to have left it's wear on her face but she was still so beautiful. The brunette nudged the blonde, Annabelle, I think, and said, "She says that this is Alcide Herveaux. Of Herveaux and Sons. The contractors?" She didn't seem to know who I was. It was refreshing to have someone not fall all over me because of my father's name.

Her accent didn't seem native to Louisiana either. While I was trying to place her accent, she and Sookie had continued talking. All this time, the little girl was pulling on my shirttail. When I looked down at her she said, "Excuse me, sir. You're very tall and have a lot of hair." She was a brave one. And adorable. Her mother noticed at this point and scolded her. "Natalie! Leave him alone. We don't pull on people's clothes." I bent down to the girl, smiled at her and said, "It's alright, isn't it Natalie? I am tall, and I do have a lot of hair. You have long hair too. Is that because you're a princess?" "No, sir. I'm THE princess." I had to laugh at that. She was something else. The whole table laughed too. She handed her a slip of paper and the reason I was here settled back down on my shoulders. Anxious all over again, I waited for Sookie to finish her conversation. Sookie mentioned something about Adele not taking money from a single mother. I clocked her ring finger and sure enough it was bare.

"Here, give me your number. Gran would love to keep your girls during the school day. I don't know that she'll take money from a single mom, even if she needs it. If you'll give me her pay, I'll sneak it in on her bills." Sookie told the blonde.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. This is a life saver." the mother responded.

"Nice to meet you, Annabelle. Welcome to Bon Temps." Sookie said and then walked away. I wasn't paying attention so it took me a second to follow her. So, I just abruptly walked away. Sookie and I went to the bar. I sat down on a stool and waited for her to check on her tables. She came back a few minutes later and started slicing lemons and limes from across from me from behind the bar. "So what did you wanna talk to me about?" I asked, figuring it was better to just get it out of the way. She slowed her cutting and then put her knife down and started separating the limes and lemons into their respective containers.

"Alcide, I..." she hesitated. "Do you want a beer?"

"Sook, you know I can't tonight. Spit it out."

"I'm still seeing Eric."

"I thought you weren't exclusive?"

"We're not. But exclusive is what you deserve, Alcide. You need much more than I can give."

"Why don't you let me decide what I need?"

"Alcide-" "No, Sook. I just want you to try."

"I can't." "How do you know you-"

"Because I'm in love with him, Alcide." I sat back, in a state of shock. "I'm sorry, but I do. I can't help it. But look, you see that blonde over there?" I looked back at the table and nodded. "The one you were ogling?" I looked at her, surprised. "Forget I could read your mind, again? Anyway, you both need something from someone. She needs to someone to remind her that she's more than a mother. That she's attractive and desired. She was all but drooling over you, convinced you were too good for her. She has everything to give and everything to lose. You need a woman that will treat you right and give you everything you deserve, and she's been through a lot of same things you have. And before you go thinking that your 'other self' is an issue, she's more open minded than you think. And you won't have to tell her about them, she already knows." I looked at her, puzzled. "Military family." she answered my silent question. "Here's her number. Just try. For me? No, for you." she smiled. "It'll be worth it, I promise."

I took the number and shook my head, kissed Sookie's forehead, smiling. She may not want me but I could still piss off the fanger. Sookie smacked me in the chest and told me to behave. Later, after visiting with Adele for a few minutes, I was running free. This night certainly hadn't ended like I'd wanted, but, it may not be all bad. Here's hoping.

**Sam**

We did a bit more research on Bon Temps. Turns out this little town had quite a history. They've had a serial killer, a maenad, werewolves turned witches attacking predominant vampires, an entire community of were-panthers outside of town, fae on fae conflict, and even the town's very own telepath who seems to be involved in pretty much all of it. I told Dean all of this and he was skeptical at best. "Were-panthers?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Apparently. And another case of seemingly random shootings a few years ago. It turned out to be the cook at that Merlotte's. Also, before that, he had another cook murdered by people that turned up dead at the hands of the maenad. And the serial killer killed one two of his waitresses and attacked a third. Oh and the telepath? She's one of his waitresses. There's no name, just that she's been seen in the different situations in her Merlotte's uniform. Oh and get this, there's reports here of Sam Merlotte turning into animals. And he has a dog named Dean that is around sporadically. And neither of them are ever seen at the same time."

"Wait. Let me get this straight... His name his Sam. He's an animal shifter who's pet name is Dean? Do you not see anything wrong with that?" Dean asked, angrily. "And an animal shifter? There's just Were animals."

"No. Actually, there are pure shifters that can shift into anything. They're very rare, but their real."

I countered. "You think this is what he's hiding?" I asked.

"I don't know yet." Dean said thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess can go ahead and go check out the bar." I conceded. Dean bent and pulled his arm into his chest in a triumphant gesture. "We should probably dress down, though, or no one will talk to us."

"Maybe not you. I look good." Dean said , wagging his eyebrows at me. I just rolled my eyes and went to change.

We got in the car about 5:30 and made to the bar within 20 minutes. That Bellefleur hadn't been lying, the place was packed. But being the only bar in a small parish, that was a given. It was homey inside the bar with a mix of booths and tables. The décor was mostly browns and reds with the occasional neon beer sign or old gas station sign. It reminded me of a small Texas Roadhouse minus the peanut shells on the floor. We walked up to the bar and sat down. Terry was behind the bar.

"I thought you said Merlotte would be here?" Dean eyed Terry like he wondered if Terry was his real name. Suddenly, a head of reddish-blonde hair popped up from under the bar. "I'm Sam Merlotte." He wiped his hands on his pants and held it out. Dean took it and said, "I'm Dean Winchester. This is my brother Sam. We're with the FBI." He cocked an eyebrow and a small smile played across Sam's face as if he found something amusing. "Something funny, Merlotte?" Dean asked, playing bad cop I guess. I decided to lighten the atmosphere by asking questions we already knew the answers to.

"Merlotte, like the bar?" I asked, holding out my hand, gesturing to the bar around us. Merlotte eyed me, like he couldn't decide if I was stupid or if I was being facetious. I thought he'd settled on the former until he came back with, "Yes, like the bar. Winchester? Like the gun?" He laughed at our reaction. I was starting to understand why everyone liked him so much. He smirked at I heard Dean stifle a groan. We hated getting that question. I held up my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I deserved that. We just want to ask you a few questions."

"Always happy to help the police. What can I do you for?"

We had just started explaining the case to him when a peppy blonde walked behind the bar and started making drinks. Dean's eyes widened and, of course, he's suddenly much more interested. She turned to Merlotte and asked, "What's going on, Sam?" She stood there, taking a long drink from one of the drinks in front of her and waited for an answer. She had shoulder length blonde hair, big, beaming blue eyes, a natural looking tan and filled out her uniform very nicely. "This is Sam and Dean Winchester. They're FBI and are here to ask some questions." She nearly choked on her tea. Coughing and trying to hold back her laugh, she smiled at us. "Nice to meet you, Sam and Dean." she said, grinning widely.

_At least she didn't make the Winchester rifle crack._

She eyed me mischievously and asked, " Winchester? Like the rifle?" Sam coughed back a laugh. And I had to laugh at Dean's expression. It was like interest crossed with discomfort. "Well, we all love Sam here." she continued, laying her hand on Merlotte's shoulder. And then she turned her attention to putting beers and other drinks on a tray.

"What was your name? In case we need to question you?" Dean asked, pouring on the charm.

"Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse." She walked out from behind the bar and leaned in close to Dean. "You can forget it, though. I'm thoroughly involved with someone you don't wanna mess with. But I think Lafayette is available, he's been eyeing you since you walked in." she said, laughing, pointing to the window on the back wall and walking away. Peeking out of that window, fluttering his false eyelashes and wiggling his fingers at Dean, was a very flamboyant, slender black man. I spewed beer all over the bar. Dean was scarlet and in a state of shock. I clapped him on the shoulder and Sam and I were trying to contain our laughter. Dean was suddenly very anxious to leave. "Let's go, man. We aren't gonna find anything else here tonight." I finally obliged, agreeing with him. But not before finishing my beer that Merlotte had so graciously refilled. I let him stew for a few more minutes. He stared straight at the bar the entire time.

We were on our way out when we overheard someone talking about someone being attacked 'over on peach tree street'. "There was cops everywhere. It took me years to get over here." ranted the heavy set woman in the booth by the door.

"I guess we found something, after all." I smirked at Dean. Dean glared at me, as we walked out the door. We found the crime scene pretty easily. It had been dark by the time we'd left the bar, it being mid-march, it still got dark relatively early. We pulled up behind the cars but couldn't see much of the scene for the blinding police lights. But we could see the house was on fire. It was in the middle of a set of duplexes so the volunteer fire department was trying desperately to contain to keep it from spreading to the other houses. When they finally put out the fire and the smoke and ash had settled, you could see it had only engulfed the front part of the house. The bedrooms and front of the kitchen had been spared aside from the layer of soot and the smell of smoke and melted plastic. We knew it wasn't likely to find the kind of evidence we were looking for in the charred remains so we walked through to the back. We scanned the back yard, looking for any clues, but came up empty handed.

I was ducking under the crime scene tape when Dean cursed. "Son of a bitch. Sammy, you better come here." I walked over to see what Dean had found and my heart fell to my feet. Son of a bitch was right. "Dammit." I said, touching the yellow powder and bringing it to my nose. "Sulfur. We're ealing with a demon."

**Sorry about the delay, guys. I am working my way through Sam's ****POV right now and I should have a new chapter posted for you by the end of the weekend. I came up against a bit of a block with Sam and Dean's story for a while but I think I've worked out the kinks and will review and post asap. Thanks for your patience and support. As always, I appreciate your reviews and will start replying to them and start work on Chapter 5 of this and Nothing is Ever Certain if you're reading that one too. Back to the drawing board. Much love.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Annabelle**

I woke Thursday morning, exhausted. I'd tossed and turned all night. I was swimming alone in a sea. My dreams usually started out pleasantly like this. I relaxed and floated on my back, savoring the feel of the water. Then I heard a splashing sound. I sat up, looked around, and finally found the source of the splashing. Emma and Natalie were playing in the tide along the shore._"Oh my god!"_ I thought. "_Okay. Don't panic, you'll freak them and yourself out." _I started making my way slowly towards the shore, trying not to bring attention to my presence. I didn't want the girls out this far and if they noticed me, they'd try and come straight to me.

I was about halfway back to shore when I noticed someone standing in the trees at the other side of the beach. It looked like a man in his upper fifties, not short not but not really tall either. He was skinny and balding on top. The hair he did have was bright red and wrapped around the base of his skull. He seemed to have some kind of overbite that showed through his goatee. As I got closer, he started making me more and more nervous. He just stood there, saying nothing. My southern manners required that I was polite and assumed that he was harmless.

I finally got to where I could touch bottom and once the water was to my waist, keeping quiet was almost impossible. The girls looked up at me then. "Mommy! Mommy!" They were shouting and bouncing around in the low, lapping tide. Just then, a cold breeze came from behind me that made me look up from the babies. What I saw made my blood run cold. The mysterious man had stepped out of the trees and was now standing within fifty feet of Natalie. She saw me and ran back towards the shoreline. Panic settled over me like a heavy cloak.

When I looked back to him, he raised his eyes from Nat to me right before I reached the girls, he smiled a terrifying smile and I froze. That's when I realized he wasn't a man at all. He was something other than human. His skin had a strange orange hue and his teeth were filed to points. His eyes weren't normal either, they didn't have irises. Instead they were entirely red, whites and all, with yellow pupils. I was to the girls by this point and I snatched them up and went straight to our stuff on the beach. I put the girls down long enough to pack things away, as to avoid any inkling of alarm. He just stood there, unmoving except for his face. He'd followed me with his eyes and stared with his head cocked and that horrifying smile. I packed the last toy, pulled on my shorts, and bent to wrap a towel around Em and a dress over Nat's head.

At that moment, the sun went behind the clouds and it was suddenly pretty dark. That's when he turned and started stalking towards us. I grabbed the girls and started to the car. He was suddenly right on top of me, so I did the only thing I could think of and threw myself on top of the girls to protect them as long as I could. He was hovering over me, licking his lips. I laid, paralyzed by fear, telling the girls over and over how much I loved them and then he was just gone.

I braved a peek around and then I found him. He was pinned to the ground by a giant white wolf. He reached for the wolf's throat, talons shooting out of his fingertips. I screamed, which distracted them both for a moment. A moment which he used to his advantage and got out of from under the wolf, retracted his claws, cast a glance at me and then fled. The wolf stopped, looked over to us as I sat, shocked, it yipped and ran off after the demon or whatever it was. I had woke from the dream with a start, breathing heavy and mind going crazy from what I'd seen. The demon had been terrifying but it was I saw in that wolf's eyes that had me floored.

I had dreams that I was trying to protect my kids all the time. That was the first time a wolf had come to our rescue. And when he turned to look at me, his eyes... His eyes had been big, deep and green. "Well, that was weird, but life goes on." I said to myself.

I could hear Emma giggling at something Natalie was doing. "What do you ladies want for breakfast?" I shouted as I padded into the kitchen. In response, I got "Mommy! Mommy!" in unison. They came barreling into the kitchen, Natalie climbed into her booster and I picked Emma up and put her in her high chair. While I was pouring their morning juice, Nat informed me that princesses only ate pink pancakes with sprinkles.

"How about pink pancakes with strawberries?" I asked. She wrinkled up her nose and looked like she was making a very difficult decision. "Okay." she finally decided. I just laughed, gave them their juice and cut up some strawberries. I put the strawberries in front of them before pulling down the pancake mix and red food coloring.

I was sliding Emma's pancakes on her plate and pouring on two more when I heard something at the door. I flipped the pancakes and went to investigate. Once I was in the living room, I'd found the source of the sound at the door. I dropped the spatula and squealed. "See, this is why we can't have nice things." said the woman at the door. She was my best friend, Marie. Marie Shaw was petite, with long, wavy chestnut hair, deep brown eyes, and a dark tan. Don't let Shaw fool you, she was mexican through and through. Especially when she was mad. She was generously endowed, had a 'fuck you' attitude but was fiercely loyal. I jumped and threw my arms around her neck.

"You're early and I've missed you." I exclaimed.

"Geez. We've only been apart like four days. Get off my nuts." she said, playfully shoving me back.

"Jerk." I said, laughing at her.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Pink Princess pancakes."

"That sounds like a princess Natalie demand." she said as we walked into the kitchen. "TIA!" Natalie shouted and launched herself at Marie. Marie caught her, spun her around and kissed her on the forehead, putting her back at the table. "Eat your breakfast, Mija." Emma was sitting in her high chair, reaching her sticky fingers up to Marie, opening and closing her little hands. Marie tried to pretend she wasn't affected by her pleas, but ended up holding her and with syrup in her hair.

"How am I ever gonna find a husband with these kids around?" she asked, facetiously, trying to run her fingers through the syrup in her hair.

"You'd have to want one for that to be a problem." I bantered back.

"True story." she agreed. And we finished our breakfast in an easy banter.

"So, I see you haven't hooked one for yourself yet either." she clipped while we were bringing the last of the stuff from the back of Marie's truck.

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Have you even left the house since you've been here?" I opened my mouth to answer her but she stopped me by holding up a finger. "Besides Wal-Mart? You've got to stop sitting at home by yourself all the time."

"Marie! I'll have you know that we were up at the local bar and grill three nights ago." I said, triumphantly. She looked at me appreciatively. "Look at you." I shook my head and laughed at her and laughed. "Did you meet anyone of interest?" she asked. I blushed when my mind went immediately to Alcide and turned my attention back to the box I was unpacking.

"No one really. Our landlord is the bartender and owner. I also met this waitress whose brother helped me get some stuff in and her grandmother is gonna watch the girls during the school day."

"I saw that. What're you not telling me?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Nothing. Why wouldn't I tell you?"

"Because you don't want me to nag you to tell me whoever it is that you're not telling me about."

"It doesn't matter anyway."

"The hell it doesn't. You've got to stop lying around grieving over Adam at one point, Anna. Why doesn't it matter?"

"I do not 'lay' around."

"You don't actually lay around, but you're just going through the motions. It's been two years, A."

"He wouldn't want me anyway, Marie. Just drop it."

"Is that so? We'll just have to see about that." Marie said, with that look in her eye. I never liked it when she got that look.

**Alcide**

I wasn't thrilled that Sookie didn't want to be with me. I was even less thrilled that I'd been denied for a vamper. It did make me feel like a weight had been lifted not having to worry about ifs and buts anymore.

"This sucks." I said to myself. It didn't seem as bad as I thought it would be, though. Yes, I've lost Sookie. But you can't really lose something you never had, can you?

_Get your mind on your work, Herveaux. _I chided myself. "Louann, did Jones ever come by for his plans?" I asked my secretary. I had taken a long lunch yesterday to talk with Janice for a while. "Yes, Mr. Herveaux. I gave them to him yesterday while you were on lunch. He seemed very pleased." Good. That catastrophe averted.

Now, if I could just get that girl from Merlotte's off my mind. I didn't need to get wrapped up in another pretty blonde that wants a dead guy over me. I didn't get the fang-banger vibe from her but I wouldn't have made Sookie for one either. Or that Debbie would cheat on me.

_Whoa now. Do not need to go down that road. _

_But who would be accepting of a werewolf?_

Sookie had said she was more open-minded and that she 'knew' already. I'm assuming that she meant what she knew about was werewolves. But then there's that about what assuming does. Making asses out of everyone and all that.

_I'd call Sookie after work and talk to her about it._ I don't really want to talk to Sookie about another woman so quickly but she's the one that told me to talk to her.

_Maybe I should just call this Annabelle? I don't know._

The day flew by after I finally made myself focus on my work. It may have been the incessant pile of work I'd stacked up since I'd been slacking at the beginning of the week during the full moon; or if it was my inner battle over which woman I would call and that I needed to stop talking about it. By the end, I'd settled on calling Sookie just to cover my bases. Sookie would know I was moving on and I would be able to clarify what exactly it was that Annabelle 'knew'. I called and she'd told me what she'd heard in her head.

She knew about Weres and thought that her mother had been unreasonable in keeping her and her siblings away from her dad's friends that had been friends of the family for years but had turned out to be wolves. Also, that she'd thought prejudice against Were-people was ignorant since they obviously weren't the movie monsters everyone thought they were. And they'd never hurt them when they could've gotten away with it. Why would they after her parents knew what wolves were capable of? And she'd, according to Sookie, been drooling over me. And Vamps made her uncomfortable, which Sook was not thrilled to relay. I'd smiled at that.

_A reasonable mother accepting of wolves? Interesting. _

Maybe I should call her. The worst she could do is say no. Maybe I'd found a woman who wouldn't prefer vampires or another wolf. I'd love to have a family and a good woman to come home to, kids to teach things to, I never imagined I could have any of those things. But I guess I should ask out the girl before I started planning a life with her. I stood up from my desk, went to my truck, drove home and parked in the parking lot. I just sat there for a full five minutes trying to coax up the courage to call. Finally, I pulled out my cell phone and stared at it. I pulled the number Sookie'd given me from my wallet and typed it in. I put it up to my ear and by the time it rang a second time I almost lost my nerve and hung up.

I took the phone away from my ear to close it and at that moment, the phone clicked and a woman answered, "Hello?" "Annabelle? This is Alcide Herveaux. We met at Merlotte's on Monday night?"

**Sam**

"Great. I hate demons." Dean said, kicking the dirt outside knowing there was no reason to preserve the crime scene. I felt his pain. Demons always gave us the most trouble short of would-be Gods. They're a pain in the ass and virtually unkillable. We had a total of two weapons to kill demons, Ruby had one and Bela had the other. Bobby had been turning over every leaf and pulling every string he could to find them both and hadn't had any luck.

So, we had to fall back on rock salt, devil's traps, and exorcism rituals. And that method meant a temporary banishment and that they could and probably would, claw their wat back out of hell more pissed than they were when we sent them there. And a pissed off demon was never a good thing. It's even worse when you're the one they're after. You never want on the short end of a vengeance stick belonging to a demon.

Hopefully, we were dealing with one of the lower grades. I really didn't want to deal with a bigger bad than we could handle. We left the scene after asking if the victims had been from Bon Temps originally. Which, of course, they had been. We were in the car on the way back to the hotel when I asked aloud, "What does this demon have against people born in this Podunk town? You'd think he'd have better prospects than this."

"I don't know, man. Maybe he's owed something? I don't have a clue what all these people could owe the same demon. Especially when they were living all over the south when they died." I wasn't sure either.

"I don't know either, Dean. Maybe we need to delve deeper into the town's and the victims' histories.

The next morning we had our coffee, Dean had his pie and we were driving around trying to find the town library. It being late August in Louisiana, we'd ditched the jackets that day and opted for rolling the sleeves of our button ups to our shoulders. Plus, it gave Dean an excuse to wear his boots. He thought it would make people more receptive of him. I thought it would probably just piss off the locals. "There it is on your right." I said, pointing to a small, white brick building to our right. He switched lanes and turned into the humble parking lot.

We'd gotten out of the car and were almost to the door when we slammed into a blonde woman, who strangely held up even though our combined weight should've knocked her down. I filed that away for later consideration. It was the waitress from the bar. What was her name? Dean put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Whoa, Sookie! Going somewhere in a hurry?" Sometimes I was really grateful for Dean's womanizer's roll-a-dex. I'd completely blanked on her name.

"As a matter of fact, Dean -" she said, smiling up at him, placing her hands on his forearms. _God, she reminds me of Jessica when she smiles_, I thought to myself. Dean looked down at their arms with that look he refused to talk about on his face. A look of concern crossed her face then she moved her hands to either side of Dean's face. She closed her eyes and whispered, "You poor things, bless your heart." Then she stood on her toes and laid a feather-light kiss on his cheek, reached over to me, patted my cheek and gave me a half-hearted smile and dropped her hands to her sides.

She shook herself, stepped away from us, smiled brightly and finished her sentence. "As a matter of fact, Dean, I'm gonna be late for my shift, so I'll talk to you boys later. Come see us at Merlotte's if you find the time." She walked the rest of the way to her car and drove off.

I turned to Dean and said, "What the hell was that all about?"

He just shook his head and said, "I don't know, little brother. But let's get in here and do some research before I make up mind."

"Make your mind up about what?"

"About having two things to hunt in this town."

With that, he walked into the library and I followed him hoping he wasn't right.

**I know I've been slacking a bit on my writing. But a one year old little girl and a house to keep can be distracting, not to mention my Alpha and Omega story. And this story requires SO much detail and free time. But I do love writing it and I know where I'm going with it, I should be caught up and get some free time today, so look for Chapter 5 in the next couple of days. I promise it will be worth your wait. There's going to be some pretty lemony parts in this next chapter for Alcide, Annabelle and maybe even Dean. And if you're a fan of strong female characters, you will fall in love with Marie in the next few chapters. Thank you for your patience and as always, love the reviews! Much love.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here you go. I promised a fifth chapter before the end of the weekend and here it is. I promised it'd be worth it and in my opinion, it is. As per usual, I do not own any of the characters from Southern Vampire Mysteries or Supernatural. Those rights belong to Charlainne Harris and Eric Kripke. And as always, I appreciate the reviews. You can thank a review from a guest reader for this chapter. It gave me the extra boost I needed to get it done. If you're ready and waiting for some seriously lemony stories, possibly requiring me to change the rating of this story, be sure to read the next two chapters. Hope you enjoy. :]  
**

**Chapter 5**

**Annabelle**

"Having trouble, Bells?" Marie asked from the kitchen table, mockingly. I glared at her. "I'm fine, thank you." I said, enunciating each word as I pulled spaghetti off my clothes that Emma had so charitably bestowed in my lap. I eyed Marie playfully and picked up Emma to dump her in the tub. "Come on, Nat. You need one too." I said to my oldest child. Marie got Natalie down from her booster seat and told her to get to the bathroom. I took Em back there, holding her out at arm's length, trying to get as little of the spaghetti monster on me as possible.

I stripped her down and plopped her into the tub. I pulled the detachable shower head off, turned on the gentlest setting and washed both girls clean of tomatoes and the day's grime. I took them out, dried them off, dressed them, brushed hair and teeth and put them to bed. It took two bedtime stories, sippy cups and three songs to get them to sleep and I was finally able to leave their room. I cleaned up the lake that was our bathroom and headed back toward the kitchen.

I walked out of the bathroom and was met with Marie's obnoxious cat, Idjit. He was orange, ate like a horse and was aptly named. He was always into some kind of mischief. He mewed up at me, and I hissed back at him. That cat was irritating.

Halfway down the hallway, I heard voices. _Marie doesn't know anyone here. _I thought. But I had left her alone for over half an hour. Knowing her, she knew half the town by now. When I made it to the kitchen, I was shocked by who the visitor was. Adele Stackhouse. _Oh no, my living room's a pigsty!_

"Mrs. Stackhouse, forgive me. The girls just went to bed and I haven't had a chance to pick up the mess they've made." I said, hurriedly cleaning up toys and crayons.

"Oh. Call me, Adele. And Anna dear, you don't have to stutter about on my behalf. I've plenty of children and I know the trail they can leave. I understand." she said sweetly, with understanding in her eyes. _God I love this woman._I thought to myself.

"Thank you, ma'am. What can I do for you? Can I get you some tea?" I asked, throwing the last of the crayons and coloring books into their plastic containers.

"No thank you, honey. I can make my way around a kitchen. Besides, I'm here to do for you, sugar." she replied, smiling at Marie. "Marie here wants to take you out and I've agreed to sit with your angels while you do." I shot a look at Marie who was grinning mischievously.

"I really appreciate that, Miss Adele but I can't go out. I have a mountain of work to before school starts Monday morning. And I can't ask you to stay up that late." I told her.

"I'm not that old, Mrs. Laing." she scoffed, mock offense making her eyes sparkle. "I stay up late Thursday through Saturday anyway because those are Sookie's late nights. From what I hear, you need the time out and you've got three more days to go before school starts. Now go on and get ready and have fun." I opened my mouth to protest and she pointed one of the knitting needles she'd just pulled from her purse at me. "No. No back talk. My stories are about to start, and I don't wanna hear it. Now, get."

I smiled at her, shot an accusatory look at Marie and got dressed. I wore a cobalt blue knee-length dress, low-cut and haltered. I wore my hair down, falling around my shoulders where the ends brushed against my elbows. I threw on some eyeliner and mascara but not much else. It would just sweat off in this heat anyway. A silver cross on a leather strap around my neck, silver flats and a rhinestone headband completed my outfit. I sprayed on some perfume and I was ready to go.

I thanked Adele several more times and she shooed me away. We walked down the steps towards the truck. Once inside the cab of the truck, I cornered Marie. "What the hell?!"

"What? You're too stubborn to plan time out for yourself. So, I just did it for you."

"You could've said something to me before 8 o'clock at night! And I'm not stubborn." I pouted.

Marie cocked her brow at me. "Tell that to someone who didn't go to high school with you. We're here now. Shut up."

We'd just found a spot in the Merlotte's parking lot. It was way in the back by a double wide trailer and the only place you could fit Marie's monstrous truck. "Ugh. I can't believe you're making me do this." I whined.

"Yes, you can. Now get out. I wouldn't want to be you if Adele found out you sat in the truck all night." The idea of that got me out of the truck pretty fast. We went around to the front of the bar and stepped inside. It was a madhouse. It was totally packed and the bar area was crawling with people. Sam looked nearly overwhelmed and the waitresses couldn't get the beers out fast enough. We got up near the hostess and could barely move through the crowd.

Just then, Marie leaned over to me and shouted, "Looks like they could use some help!" and the next thing I knew, she was jumping the bar, cracking open beers and pouring out shots as fast as her hands would go. Merlotte kind of looked at her confused but must've decided that he needed the help too much to complain because he shrugged and went back to slinging beers.

I was shaking my head at Marie when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see who it was and at the same moment I was slammed into a hard, flannel clad chest. A chiseled, warm chest that smelled irresistably like new fallen leaves in the fall. I had to refrain from inhaling his intoxicating scent and myself step back. That's when I looked up and realized who I'd been pressed up against. _It was that beautiful, beautiful man from Monday night. Why did it have to be him?_ I flushed, embarrassed for running into him.

"Hello again." I said, meekly. He laughed a deep, rumbling laugh. _Why was that so sexy? Get ahold of yourself! _Just when I was starting to get a grip on my hormones, he leaned down and said, "Hey. You look surprised to see me. We just spoke on the phone a couple of hours ago. We're supposed to meet here, tonight... right?"

_Wait, what? _I just stood there like an idiot, trying to focus on his words instead of the feel of his breath, warm against my neck. I shuddered involuntary and immediately regretted it because he stepped back.

"Right. Here. Tonight." I muttered, stealing a glance at Marie. She was watching me. She winked at me and went back to talking to a really good-looking blonde guy at the end of the bar. He glanced back at me, too. I guess to see where Marie's attention had strayed away to. Once he realized it was me, he turned back to their conversation. I turned back to Alcide, stood on my toes and said in his ear, "Yeah. It was tonight. You just caught me off guard since its so loud and I kinda knocked into you."

He held his hands up as if in surrender, and said, "Hey. You don't see me complaining." He flashed that gorgeous smile again. It almost made me melt. Then he got closer than necessary and said, "Why don't we see if we can find somewhere a little quieter in here?" He held out his hand and led me to corner booth on the other end of the bar.

**Alcide**

"Alright. I'll see you there. 8 o'clock. Bye."

_Yes!_ I thought to myself in triumph. That was easier than I thought it was going to be. She had seemed busy but I guess with two kids at home she probably would be. I'd known that asking her out on such short notice would be a long shot but it had paid off. I wished I had time to really get ready for tonight but I had to run some blueprints out to that construction site way out in the sticks. It was on the way to Bon Temps though so a quick shower and dressed down would have to do.

Not long after, I was driving out to the site. It was a project that was going to take some time considering the amount of trees that were going to have to be cleared. The buyer had a bought a fully wooded plot, paid to clear barely enough trees for a small home and a driveway. Otherwise, the house would be entirely surrounded by trees. It was going to be so secluded that we were having to put a transformer in specifically for him. I'd love it out here, but it seemed awfully lonely. I asked to speak to the buyer, to settle some details but he'd had errands to run.

_Fine by me. I've got plans anyway. _I left in a hurry since it was already 7:30 and I still had to get to Bon Temps, almost an hour away. Even speeding, I didn't hit the city limits until 10 after eight.

_Shit. Way to make a good impression, Herveaux. First date and already ten minutes late._

I pulled into Merlotte's and was thankful for the choice of venue. The place was swamped, maybe she hadn't noticed that I was late. I finally found a parking spot and it was almost 8:30 by the time I got through the front door. _Great. I'll never find her in here. Wish I'd asked where to meet or even what she'd be wearing. _I was scanning the bar for her when I saw a girl jump the bar. She grinned in my direction but then I realized she was smiling at someone in front of me. I looked down and to my left and there she was. Really long blonde hair, a bright blue dress. It was a good color on her. I was pretty sure it was her but I had to see her face to be sure.

I tapped her on the shoulder, she moved to turn around to me and a group of drunk college girls stumbled into her, slamming her into my chest. She stood like that for at least a full minute. I don't know if it was to hide her embarrassment or what. She felt warm against me. I rested my hands unobtrusively on her shoulders, trying to resist the urge to run my hands down her back and feel her hair in my hands.

"Hello again."she said and seemed to be mentally chiding herself. I had to laugh. I leaned down to her and said, "You look surprised to see me. We just spoke on the phone a couple of hours ago. We're supposed to meet here. Tonight. Right?"

She pulled back and looked at me, puzzled. Then she kind of shivered. It was still too hot out for her to be cold. _Wonder if I did something to cause that?_ I stepped back, instinctively, hating being out of her embrace.

"Right. Here. Tonight." she said. I breathed a sigh of relief and she shot a look at girl behind the bar. At that point, some of the pieces starting falling together. I pretended not to hear her, since I shouldn't have been able to. And this was on shaky ground at best. I needed to wait a bit for that bomb. I put my hand to my ear and shouted, "What? I can't hear you in here!" She went up on her toes, wrapped her hand around the back of my neck and put her cheek against mine.

"Yeah. It was tonight. You just caught me off guard since it's so loud and I knocked into you."

I had to make a conscious effort not to react to her being so close to me. Not to turn my head slightly to the left and kiss her. Instead, I stepped back, held my hands up and said, "Hey. You don't see me complaining." Grinning at her like a fool, I saw something in her eyes change and hoped it was a good thing. Itching to be close her again and for this to actually go somewhere, I leaned in really close and said, "Why don't we see if we can find somewhere a little quieter in here?" I held out my hand, hoping she'd take it. She laid her hand lightly in mine and I pulled her towards the back of the restaurant, away from the bar and jukebox.

There wasn't a waitress for quite some time but we weren't seated more than 10 minutes before a woman came over with a beer and a glass of wine.

"We didn't order these." I said.

"Tell her we said thank you." Anna said, catching me off guard. I looked at her, waiting for an explanation.

"The brunette behind the bar? She's my roommate." I nodded in understanding. _That explains a lot._ I thought. She fiddled with the bottom of her wine glass and looked like she had something to say but didn't want to say it. So I broke the ice for her.

"So, I heard something about you having some work to do up at the school. What do you do for the school?" _Smooth, Alcide. Real smooth._

"I'm gonna be their new second grade teacher. It's actually lucky I got the job. One of the teachers ran off with a vampire and they had to fill the position quickly." she rambled out. "Not lucky for her, I guess." she said, almost to herself.

"It could've been. Some people are into anything a vamper's willing to give." I said, begrudgingly.

She studied me for a moment, as if trying to make some decision about me. "Not me." she said finally. "I don't hold nothing personal against them, it just seems gross. I mean, they're dead, right? Only warm bodies for me, thanks." she said. I choked on the beer I'd been drinking and she immediately blushed scarlet. As if she had just realized what she'd said.

I was cleaning up the beer I'd sprayed and was still chuckling about her little confession when a red-headed waitress came up and took our order and then walked to the kitchen hatch. We sat in awkward silence until she broke it.

"So... how 'bout them Cowboys?"

We both laughed at that. "I'm a college ball fan myself." I said.

"Really? Not even the Saints?" She curled her nose when she asked that so I was relieved to tell her no. We fell into an easy conversation after that. Before I knew it, we'd been talking for nearly four hours. I didn't notice the place emptying out until Anna'd gotten up for the bathroom and I'd actually looked around. I called the waitress over, paid the tab and waited for Annabelle. She came stalking out of the bathroom a few minutes later and I was afraid I'd done something wrong. She was texting furiously and then snapped her phone shut.

"Everything okay?" I asked hesitantly.

"Peachy. Apparently, my roommate thought it necessary to take off with that guy from the bar. In the truck I came here in. Leaving me without a way home." she said, obviously irritated.

"Well, I can give you a ride home." I said.

"I feel sure that was the idea." she said under her breath. I chuckled and said, "Come on. Truck's over here."

We got around to the truck, I pushed the unlock button on my keypad, and said, "Here. You'll probably need help getting in."

Except, when I got around the truck, she'd pulled herself up into the passenger seat. She laughed at my shocked expression. "I was born in Texas. If there's one thing I learned to do, it was haul my butt into huge trucks without aid." she said brightly.

We got on the road and I asked, "So, does your roommate make a habit of going with strangers?"

She shot me a defensive look. _Loyalty. I like it. _I guess she decided I hadn't meant it hateful because she softened and answered. "That depends.- turn here- If he's cute, southern, and can shoot a gun, absolutely."

"She's not worried about getting hurt?" I asked. She looked at me suspiciously.

"Marie can take care of herself. Turn down that road."

I turned and we were blinded by police lights. I stopped and jumped out to help her out, but she was already down and headed in the house. I followed her in to find Adele Stackhouse of all people, inside.

"What happened?" Annabelle asked.

"Hello, Adele." I said.

"Why, hello Alcide. I didn't know it was you Annabelle was seeing tonight." she said to me. She realized a moment later she hadn't answered Annabelle. "Annabelle! Sorry, dear. A man broke in and-"

A FBI agent walked up and asked for her statement.

"As I was telling Annabelle, the children's mother; A man broke in. I got him in the neck with my knitting needle and then with the poker in his side. He did seem spooked by the cat, cause it came in, hissed at him and the man ran off. I checked on the babies and then called you all."

"Do you have reason to think someone would be after you?"

"No, son. But it didn't really seem to want me but it did seem to be after the babies."

"Excuse me, did you say 'it'?"

"Yes. It didn't seem entirely human but that's just crazy."

"And you said he seemed to want the children?"

"Yes. And I wasn't having any of that."

A low growl escaped my throat at the idea of something harming the children or Adele and Anna whipped around and stared at me. I know the wolf was showing in my eyes. I just hoped Annabelle didn't see it. She looked me up and down, settled on my face, studied it for a moment, then she met my eyes. A range of emotions crossed her face. Alarm, fear, confusion and finally understanding dawned her face and she smiled at me. Then she turned to go to her kids. _What the hell was I supposed to get from that?_

**Sam**

"Alright. Thanks. No, we haven't found much else. Dean is doing recon now."

"You mean he's sitting at the bar, checking out waitresses?" Bobby asked, knowing how Dean was.

"It actually seems to be the bartender tonight." I told him.

"Idjit. Alright. Call you if I find anything. You dumbasses be careful." Bobby's was a tough love.

"Okay. Thanks, Bobby." I said and hung up.

I walk out to rejoin Dean just in time to see him walk out the door with the brunette from behind the bar. _Dammit, Dean._I sat and watched Sookie for another few hours. I saw a pretty big guy go to the back with a blonde but it seemed harmless. I watched and waited until I was starting to feel like a creep. She seemed totally normal to me. I finally just gave up for the night and decided to go back to the hotel and get some sleep until whatever time Dean decided to come crawling in. He'd been knocking them down since he'd returned from hell. I could understand his need for human contact and he'd always been a ladies' man. But one of these days, he was gonna get mixed up with the wrong girl and then we'd have a pissed off husband or something to deal with.

I walked out of the bar and was almost to the car when he called me.

"Hey. You didn't hurt baby, did you?"

"No, Dean."

"Just checkin' You better get over here to those duplexes though. There's a problem with Marie's roommate."

"Dude, I don't want to get involved in your weird games with this girl."

"Sam. It's the kind of problem for the FBI."

"Oh. I'll be right over."

"Don't wreck my car."

"Whatever, Dean."

I sped over there and Dean was standing next to the bartender, an older woman and that blonde with that huge guy from earlier. There were police lights and uniforms everywhere. I flashed me badge and asked the first cop I came to what was going on.

"Old lady stabbed a guy for going after some kids. Mom and aunt were at the bar."

"Alright, thanks."

I went over to the older woman and asked what happened. She told me she'd stabbed the guy. I guess the blonde was the mom because she asked about the kids. The old woman kept calling the intruder an "it".

"Excuse me, you keep calling the intruder, 'it', Is there a reason for that?"

She went on to tell me that it didn't seem human. She thought she was crazy for that though. They usually do when they see something that they can't explain. Although, she was sure that it wanted the kids.

"And what did you do when it attacked?"

"I got it in the neck with my knitting needle but that just seemed to make it angry. So I got it in the side with the fireplace poker over there." She pointed to it, Dean picked it up, and he gave me an answering nod to my silent question. Iron.

"Ma'am. Can describe the intruder for me?"

The mother had just walked back in from the children's room and hugged the man she'd come in with. It seemed to surprise him but he hugged her back. Then we all turned our attention to the woman with the intruder's description.

"Well, he was a bit taller than him-" she said, pointing at Dean. "but much shorter than you or Alcide here. He had an odd color to his skin. Like those people who turn themselves orange with lotions? He also had very sharp teeth." The mother's face drained of all color. "Like a vampire?" I asked, not looking away from the blonde. "No. My granddaughter has dated a couple so I know what they look like." Everyone in the group except that Alcide guy and Dean's date looked at her in shock. Alcide seemed to be harboring anger while Dean's date seemed to be trying to avoid everyone's gaze.

"Anything else?"

"No. Wait. He didn't seem to like that cat." she said.

"Alright. Thank you. We'll call with any additional questions." I walked over to Dean. The mother walked over to Dean's date and that Alcide followed, a possessive hand at her back. I asked the mother the normal questions, nothing there.

"You haven't done anything with Sasquatch here to piss anyone off, have you?" Dean asked, gesturing to Alcide, who was twice his size and being an ass. _Thank you, Dean. I wanted to deal with this crap from you again tonight. _She looked up at him to respond, anguish in her eyes. Dean looked ashamed as soon as his eyes met hers. But Alcide jumped in front of her and honest to God growled. But as it turned out, he didn't need to. Dean's date tapped him on the shoulder and before he got all the way around, her fist connected with his jaw. All four of us, the old woman, the mom I learned to be Annabelle, Alcide and myself, took a step back.

"You may be cute but you will not talk to my best friend like that. She's the best person I know. She'd give the shirt off her back to a stranger and is an amazing mother that would never do anything that didn't benefit her kids. I had to trick her into going out tonight! She hasn't let these kids out of her sight for anything but work since her husband died in Iraq." She seemed to have let something slip in that last part. But she wasn't done yet. "Now, apologize... asshole."

"Sorry." Dean mumbled. She smacked him in the back of the head."Ow! Sorry, Annabelle."

_I liked this girl! _"Alright, everybody out! Show's over! We're good. Come back later. Call if you need anything but it better not be tonight!" Marie shouted. Everyone seemed to hesitate and stared at her.

"What?! I. Will. Cut. You. OUT!" she yelled, putting emphasis on each word. Everyone started pouring out. All that was left after fifteen minutes were Dean and I, Marie, Alcide, Annabelle and the old lady I learned to be Adele. Marie hugged Adele and thanked her for everything. Adele kissed Annabelle's forehead and left. Marie bent and picked up a cat that was at her feet. She put the cat near Annabelle's face and said, "See. You're so mean to him and Idjit really pulled his own tonight." Annabelle laughed, took the cat from her and said, "That he did."

Dean cautiously leaned forward and asked, "What did you say your cat's name was?" She shot him a look and said, "Idjit. Although, it would more befitting to you right now." I had to laugh out loud at that one. Bobby would love that. Dean glared at me.

"Alright. Now, y'all scoot too. Even you, lover boy." she said. "Lover boy" being aimed at Alcide that was still holding Annabelle in his arms. We left without complaint. Mostly because I think Dean was afraid of getting punched again.

"Well, that was entertaining."

"Shut up, Sam." Dean said, rubbing his jaw.

"Really, Dean. Did you see the way the mom reacted to the intruder's description?"

"No. Why?"

"It was like she recognized it."

"Well, I guess we'll have to talk to her. But we're coming back tomorrow. I am not going back in there and getting punched again."

"I can't wait to tell Bobby about this."

"Shut up... Bitch." Dean said, smiling.

"Jerk." I replied.

I savored that moment of relative normalcy with Dean. They came so few and far between now.


	6. Chapter 6

******As of 10/01/2012, both _Heat of the Moment _and _Nothing is Ever Certain_, are on hiatus. I lost my grandfather this month, I have two kids and inlaws in and out with it being the holidays. I'll try to get some writing done over the next month or so. I'm also at a standstill with the AnO story and no one's really reading the Supernatural one. Any time I can spare, I'll try to update. I do plan to finish at least one of the stories and start updating later. But I don't seem to have many readers on the Supernatural/Sookie Stackhouse story so I don't know if I'll even put the effort out for it. I may start work on a Doctor Who fanfic soon because that's what moves me right now. I'll warn you, it'll always be 10. I have an unhealthy infatuation with David Tennant. I'm also flirting with the idea of a Harry Potter one. Let me know what you think.**


End file.
